Up In Flames
by ImKumikoIOmnomnomOnYourHead
Summary: When Kumiko's village is destroyed by a flame mage, along with a fellow villager, she sets out on a search for the culprit. Kumiko will stop at nothing to find and kill whoever was behind it.
1. Prologue

**Yay! This is my third fanfic, so I hope my experience has affected my writing.  
**

People stood around me, their mouths formed words, but I heard nothing. All I could focus on was the fire. From atop the hill where I stood, I could see the structure of my house burning. Beyond that my school, the park; the netire town was on fire.

_At least the screaming_ _stopped,_ was all I could think.

I'd jinxed it. More screams carried across the air and filled my ears. Their vibrations shook my mind until I couldn't stand it, my scream joined those of my friends and family. A woman came to comfort me, but it was to no avail. She didn't know how it felt to see everything disappear before her very eyes, how could she _ever _know? My mom, dad; I'd watched everything burn until only ashes were left. I was weak, I couldn't do anything. If only my mother hadn't sent me to get flowers, then I would have burned with them! Dirt scattered beneath my feet as I ran to the flames prepared to embrace them, but I was held back; it was that woman again.

"Let me go!" I screamed in anguish, "I want to burn too! I don't want to be the only one left!"

The woman knelt down and set her hand on my shoulder. "Kumiko," she rasped in a low voice, "If you stay alive than you can find out who did this. Don't you want to avenge your Mom and Dad?"

I stared in wonder as the woman smiled, flames engulfing her body. Her long, wavy, chestnut hair lit up like a match, yet she still smiled, mouthing the words "Run". I turned from her, leaving her stranded in the midst of fire; leaving her to burn. Once again, I found myself on top of the hill with the group of people. They swarmed around me, these strangers hugged me and asked me so many questions my head began to hurt again. One question stood out, seeming to echo in my mind. When it was asked everybody stopped and turned to a boy at the back of the crowd, he repeated the question.

"Where is Gina?" he asked.

_Gina? That must have been the woman's name. _I thought solemnly.

"She-she," the words came out in a jumble, almost incomprehensible, "She was c-caught in the flames a-and she told me-"

The boy cut me off, "Don't lie!" he hissed angrily, "Gina was a _mute_! Tell me the truth."

I stood there dumbfounded as he shook me, yelling at me. The others pulled the boy off and restrained. As he was pulled away he hissed and spat at me, calling me viscous names.

"Calm down Ryo!" they shook him.

I could see the resemblance; he looked just like the woman. That same hair, only his was a short scruffy mess. It was the eyes, the shade was the same- a light brown- but his didn't hold the same kindness. They were harsh, but behind it all, I could see the pain. I found my feet moving by their own will, closing in on the boy. My own hands reached up to his face. His anger dissolved with my touch.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I repeated, the words stumbling out of my mouth, tripping over my lips.

Seeing that the boy had calmed down, the men who had been holding him let go. The boy didn't attack me, he stood, looking me straight in my tear filled sapphire eyes. He picked me up, squeezing me close. I don't know what it was about him, but I felt so comfortable I let the tears flow.

"I'm sorry," the boy whispered to me, "We both lost people tonight, didn't we?"

My only reply was to bury my face in his shoulder. He stroked the ashes out of my blond hair.

"Don't worry, we'll find the mage that did this."

I was so comforted by his promise for revenge; was that normal for a seven year old girl?

**More chapters will follow! Hope you liked it and remember to leave a review!**


	2. Search

**Haha! I finally figured out how to make that line thingy!**

The bodies were everywhere, what a mess. **  
**

"Seems it was just some more random criminals..." I sighed, my pigtails crowding my face as I bent low to inspect one of the bodies.

"I guess we should have guessed, none of them were really strong enough." Ryo concluded.

"But still," I kicked the body, "Its been seven years! You'd have thought we would have found at least a clue!"

"Hey," Ryo touched my shoulder in comfort, "Don't fret, I'm sure we'll find something soon."

"How can you stay so calm!" I pouted.

"Lots of practice." he replied sarcastically.

"Very funny," I rolled her eyes, "So where are we headed next, Ryo-kun?"

"How many times to I have to ask you to stop calling me Ryo-kun?"

"I still don't understand why I can't..." I grumbled irritably.

"Because you're not using the honorific properly; I'm older than you! Plus, you could at least give me a more masculine sounding nickname or maybe more of a term of endearment." Ryo fantasized, his eyes glazing over, he stared off into the distance.

"Just quit your daydreaming and tell me where we're going!" I ordered, flicking him on the head.

"Fine, fine! Let's see..." he unfolded a map, "Ummmm... hm... maybe...?"

"Are you telling me that you don't know where to go next...?" I suddenly felt extremely faint and leaned against a table for support but it crashed at my mere touch.

"Fatty." Ryo snickered.

"J-just stut-up!" I huffed, standing.

That was when I noticed it; sitting in the midst of the rubble was an edition of _The Weekly Sorcerer_. I quickly leapt over, snatching it and wiping the dust off, I read the title: Flame Mages of Fiore.

"Jackpot." I squealed and with a quick twist I shoved the magazine in Ryo's face.

* * *

I could barely take in the scenes as they whizzed past us on the train. Forests, villages, people, I saw no details, only quick forms as we sped past. But none of the little details mattered anyway, we were headed to Fiore! Fiore; it was practically magic central! If _that mage _was anywhere, it would be Fiore. I silently snickered at my own stupidity; why hadn't we thought of that before? I felt like an imbecile, but a happy imbecile at that.

Darkness fell over as the train entered entered a tunnel, but the lights quickly flickered on. As I was unable to admire the scenery any longer, I turned to the magazine. I flipped through the pages, names and faces flickering by. Some of the mages were simply a joke, mediocre and weak. The majority of them couldn't have caused my village to burn if they wanted to. The ones that we knew couldn't have done it I'd already doodled over (What? I got bored!). Their profile photos were covered with my signature animal ears, buck or black teeth and Xs or swirls for eyes.

"Hey cutie! What'cha got there?" a tall, slender man with blond hair entered my car.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the tattoo on his forehead.

"Why should it matter to you?" I replied coldly.

"Ouch! A little cold aren't we? Let me introduce myself, I'm Salamander _the flame mage_." he grinned and winked at me, I simply stared coldly back.

I had to keep my cool; he was a flame mage. I couldn't interrogate and dispose of him at the moment, though. The train was too public, I was going to have to get closer to him, make him believe I was his friend.

"Oh, really? A mage?" I clapped my hands together in false excitement.

"Hahah, how'd you like to come to my party tonight in Hargeon? It'll be in my boat on the harbor." Salamander's cocky grin was sickening me, but I held it together.

"Wow! I love parties, I'll be there!" I held my smile no matter how much I wanted to gag.

"Great, see you then!" as soon as the door closed behind Salamander, I retched.

"Blaaaaaa! I hate cocky bastards like him! They're disgusting!" I grimaced.

The door slid open again and I regained my composure to see Ryo, letting out a sigh, I waved.

"Yo, I got some grub." he handed me an ice cream.

"And I've got a flame mage." I replied, starting on the ice cream.

**I probably wouldn't have this out if I hadn't already written half of it. I had a theater thing all week, so I'm super tired, but here's your chapter. Please review!**


	3. Shopping

**Yay! Chapter three! I might be taking on a couple more fanfics this summer (that's when you cheer)! There's one for Inuyasha that I've started and I will probably start posting it in July-ish. I'm sorry, but this chapter is a bit short, I've been busy with homework and theatre because my theater show is next week, anyways, here's your chapter!**

It seemed as though Ryo was using me as his own personal Barbie doll. As he drug from store to store I felt extremely _used _and the happy grin on his face made me feel sick to my stomach. I gazed at him wonderingly while he wafted through the clothing racks. I thought my ears must have been deceiving me when a soft humming erupted from his throat.

"Here!" he said in a cheery note, handing me an outfit.

"Ryo," I stared, "You're scaring me."

"Scaring you?" he laughed, "What's wrong?"

"Everything," I replied, gawking, "You're way too... bubbly and it's sketching me out."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he sang, passing me an outfit and shoving me in the change room.

"I'm not trying it on until I get an explanation!" I protested.

Not a sound; no reply. With Ryo, silence meant BAD, it meant he was plotting something.

"Ryo?" I called nervously.

I tentatively stepped forward and peeked out of the curtain. All of a sudden something flew at me, tearing at my clothes. I screamed and tore back at it, but I didn't even slow my attacker slightly, it continued with its futile attack. I'd barely caught my breathe before it flew forward and ripped my shirt. Now I wasn't only confused, I was angry, and those two emotions were _not_ a good mix for me.

In a fury, I leapt forward, kicking it in the face, but it squirmed free of my grasp. It ran out of the change, for the door, but I was right behind it. Just as my attacker grasped the handle of the door I slammed into the ground with such force that it took the building down. With the adreniline out of my blood I finally looked about me. I'd reduced the store to rubble all around me ly confused shoppers and workers, but i payed no attention to them, I went straight for my attacker who lay in a nearby pile of rubble.

I picked it up by the collar of its shirt and looked straight into its... fearful eyes? The attacker was just some terrified woman, it made no sense! Then it clicked: Ryo. I set the poor girl down and headed for Ryo. He casually got up and greeted me, but before a single word was out, my foot was in his face.

"How much did you pay the poor girl?" I demanded, rubbing my foot in his face.

"I-i (it) weawy (really) wasun (wasn't) gah (that) muh (much)!" he protested, his mouth full of foot.

"Exactly _how_ much?" I asked placing my foot on his chest so there was no escape.

"Just a couple hundred thousand jewels." he uttered quickly.

"A couple hundred thousand?" I screached, "You idiot!"

I'd prefer not to go into detail with Ryo's beating. The beginning had been bad enough but then Ryo decided to mention the fact that I was wearing no shirt and I... well you don't really need to know that side of me!

**Yay, I hope I didn't make too many mistakes, the computer I'm using doesn't have autocorrect so I have no way of knowing whether my words were wrong or not. I apolagize if I made your brain angry with any bad spelling. Thank-you and remember to review!**


	4. Sail and Flame

**Apparently the fake Salamander's hair is green or something in the anime and I thought it was blond... sorry for any confusion this might have caused!**

I tried to sit prettily on the boat but I was extremely uncomfortable. I kept crossing and uncrossing my legs and fidgeting with my drink. Even though I was dressed up I still felt out of place among all the snazzy women. I avoided their stares and tries not to listen to their whispers but it was too hard and I stood to confront them.

I waltzed my way over as elegantly as was possible for me and introduced myself. "Hello, I'm Kumiko."

The surprised look on their faces was almost worth it.

"I assumed you wanted to talk to me, since you kept on looking over. So, what is it?" I almost smirked, but held it inside my head.

"Uh, um...," they stuttered, "We just thought you were a little young..."

The response was much more humble than what I had expected.

"Haha, a little young for what?" I laughed, almost spilling my drink.

"The alcohol..." they mumbled pointing at my drink.

"Alcohol? This isn't..." I sniffed the drink, realization coming over me. "That bastard..."

The women shared confused glances and I excused myself. As soon as I was a fair distance away from them I tossed the glass on the ground.

"A slow acting sleeping poison, heh, and he told me he'd be back in around an hour to take me to a private room and chat! The sick pervert..." I grumbled, "Luckily I watched where he went off to and maybe I'll be able to catch him before he does any harm..."

I turned in a hurry and nearly toppled over when the boat trembled. A loud crash rung in the air.

"What the hell...?" I cursed, regaining my balance.

Dirt drifted through the air above the main room; the room that Salamander had gone into. I rushed over and kicked down the door. I was just in time to see a girl fly out of a hole in the roof.

"I won't let you get away!" Salamander called after her.

True to his claim, Salamander conjured up some flame and sent it at the girl. I couldn't tell if she made it out of the way or not but I had no time to waste. Salamander screamed some orders to a group of men in the room and it was just as he finished speaking that my foot went flying into his face. The force of the collision sent him flying into the wall. I could hear bones crack on the impact.

"Fairy... Tail... you...!" a boy in the corner was struggling to stand, he glared at Salamander with fiery eyes.

Salamander groaned and stood. "You'll pay for that...!"

Before Salamander could make a move the boat was hit by a wave, sending everyone flying. I twisted so that my feet hit the wall, and grabbed onto the first available ridge.

"What's... going on?" Salamander huffed.

"It stopped," it was the boy from before, the one that mentioned something about FairyTail, "The rocking... stopped."

He stood up, and I finally had a clear view of the boy; fiery black eyes and flame red hair.

The door slammed against the wall and in burst the girl that I'd seen flying out the roof.

"Natsu! Are you oka-!" she started, then froze.

"Brat, you shouldn't get on other people's boats without their permission!" Salamander scoffed.

'Natsu' -as I assumed was his name- took battle stance. Salamander sent his men rushing at Natsu, but Natsu himself barely made a move.

"Are you a mage of FairyTail?" Natsu asked, bravely.

"What about it?" Salamander smirked.

"Let me get a good look at your face," Natsu made an ugly face and smacked the men in front of him away, "I'm Natsu from FairyTail and I've never seen you before!"

Salamander's face was priceless; a moment of pure disbelief and confusion.

"I don't care if you're a bastard or a good person; I can't forgive you for using our name." Natsu's veins pulsed, he was seriously pissed.

"Whatever, you're just a noisy brat!" Salamander sent an explosion of flame on the poor boy.

Even I couldn't help an intake of breath as the flame engulfed the boy.

"Awful," said the flaming figure of Natsu, "What is it? Are you really a fire mage? I've never tasted such awful fire."

Natsu slurped up the fire that over his body. "Thanks for the food." he wiped his mouth as if some flame might remain on his face.

"Wha-wha-wha-what is he!" Salamander was in a cold sweat, fear taking over his instincts.

"Now that I've eaten, I can feel my real power! Here I come!" Natsu began sucking the air around him and in everybody's panic he lat out a burst of flame that took out everyone in the room.

"Remember it well." Natsu sent his flaming fist into Salamander's face.

Even though he had already knocked Salamander out, Natsu continued to wreak havoc on the place.

"Hey! That's enough!" I screamed.

Natsu turned to me, confused. "There's a girl in this group...? That's kind of twisted..."

He stared at me.

"You think I'm a part of this! I'm was here to stop it!" I lost my temper.

"Well you didn't do a very good job..."

"Shut up! You burst in before I could do anything!" I pouted.

"But you're just a kid, what could you have-" Natsu placed his hand on my head, but in a blur he was on the ground with a footprint on his face and Ryo on top of him.

"What the hell was that for!" Natsu screamed.

"I saw you touching Kumiko! If I hadn't interferred who knows what nasty perverted things you could have done to her!" Ryo shouted protectively.

"Only in your dreams!" I hollered, punching him off of Natsu, "I can damn well take care of myself!"

"Wh-what's with all this rukus!" the military came clambering in.

I could feel the air leave my lungs as I was whipped away.

"Crap! Let's run!" Natsu grimaced, grabbing my hand along with the other girl's (whom I'd almost forgotten about).

Ryo came running after us. "You little bastaaaaaaard!"


	5. The Guild

**Sorry that this update is so late I was away in New York with no access to a computer! But here you go!**

"Wah!" Lucy gaped, "It's huge!"

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy chimed.

Even I was impressed with the towering building. Ryo just snorted and tried to pass it off as nothing, but I don't think anything that big could ever be 'nothing'.

"What are you standing there for, Kumiko? Come on!" Natsu grinned.

He was right, so I followed the group of them inside.

"We're hoooooome!" Natsu bellowed.

The room was alight with laughter and merriment. Wherever you turned you were greeted with smiles and waves. There was so much to take in; I'd never seen so many people in one place!

I snapped my attention back to Natsu who was currently removing his foot from someone's face. In the blink of an eye fights had broken out all over the room.

"Did you say that Natsu was back!" somebody blurted out.

I turned and met a pair of onyx eyes, unlocking our stare I saw his pale body and messy jet black hair. I didn't take too much time to examine his face as I was distracted by his near nakedness. Yes, the boy was standing there in his boxers. Once again, I lifted my lids to _more _fights. This time the thing that caught my eye was a thin man covered in women, literally; he had them hanging off of him. I didn't even bother to analyze him.

Another blink and the nearly naked boy was was now utterly and completely naked.

"Get your penis away from me or I'll rip it off." I threatened, keeping a firm glare fixated on his face.

"Yeah, right, sure, sorry." he said slipping away.

It was at that moment that I realized that Ryo was no longer behind me. Usually at a moment like thing he'd be freaking out trying protect me. But it didn't take too long to locate Ryo I soon spotted him in the midst of all the fighting.

"Typical..." I sighed.

Suddenly everyone seemed to be getting serious so I took a defensive stance just in case.

"That's enough," a voice boomed over the ruckus and mayhem and a frightening shadow loomed over the room, "CUT IT OUT YOU FOOLS!"

Even though there was this humungous shadowy figure there, nobody seemed frightened at all -well, everyone except for Lucy- so I was sure not to panic. But Ryo didn't seem to get the memo, he automatically ran in front of me.

"Don't come any further!" he growled.

He's making a fool of himself... what an idiot.

"Oh... newcomers?" after a moment the shadow shrunk into a little man who only came to Lucy's knee, "Nice to meet you all."

Without a moment's hesitation, the little man flew up to the railing of the second floor.

"You've done it again, fools. Look at these documents I received from the council. First... Gray!" he called out.

"Huh?" replied the naked boy from before.

"Good job sweeping out the smuggling organization, but you walked around town naked afterwards and ran away after stealing underwear that was being dried."

_So the nakedness must be a consistent problem... _I thought.

"Elfman! You had a mission to escort a VIP but assaulted him during the mission."

The list went on. It seemed like everyone had had one problem of another on their simple missions.

"Guys," he continued, "The council is angry at me all the time... but... forget the council."

He finished the sentence with burning the documents.

"Listen up. The power to overcome reasoning is born from reasoning. Magic is not a miracle. When the 'spirit' flow within us and the 'spirit' flow of nature connects they will form an embodiment for the first time. You will need a strong mentality and a lot of concentration for that. I mean, pouring all of your soul into what you do is magic. If you keep worrying about the watchful eyes of the higher ups, your magic won't improve. Do not fear the fools of the council. Do whatever you think is right! That's the way of the Fairy Tail mages!" he grinned.

I don't think that I had ever felt such a want before in my entire life. Bigger than even the want to find the flame mage that destroyed my village, I wanted to be part of this guild. I found myself doing something that I hadn't done in a while; I smiled.

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Remember to review! **


	6. Vulcan

**I've recently become obsessed with True Blood, I think I've wasted several full days watching it...**

Lucy might have been in it for the reputation, but me? I didn't care about fame or fourtune, I just couldn't bare to see any child have to grow up without a parent. Nobody deserved that. So there I was, sitting in a carriage with a motion sick Natsu and Lucy chatting away.

"I need to find someplace to live once I Macau-san." Lucy told me.

"Oh, I guess I do too..." I realized.

"Really, maybe we could live together? It would be fun!" Lucy beamed, grabbing my hands.

"I guess that would be pretty cool, but," I pulled my hands back towards me, "I'm not sure how Ryo would feel..."

"Oh, that's right! Where is he anyway?" Lucy asked.

"Um, well I guess I.. forgot to tell him?" I gave her a nervous smile.

Suddenly the bumping and jumbling movements halted; the carriage had stopped.

"It stopped!" Natsu jumped up, miraculously cured of his ailment.

"We're there?" Lucy wondered.

"I guess so." I shrugged, opening the carriage doors.

"I'm sorry," our driver spoke up, "We can't go any further than this with the carriage."

The cold air hit me in a burst of ice and snow. I could no longer feel my fingertips, let alone move my face. I don't believe I'd ever been this cold in my life.

"What's going on?" Lucy panicked, "Even though we're up in the mountain, it's summertime! There shouldn't be a snowstorm like this! I-it's cold!"

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious..." I muttered, shivering.

I quit listening to Lucy's rampage and focused on our surroundings. Mountains loomed over us, but I couldn't make out much else through the storm; not even tell the time of day.

I turned, refocusing on Natsu and Lucy. For some reason Lucy was now inside a ginormous clock, I didn't even bother to question why.

"Speaking of that, what job did Macao come here for, she says." the clock relayed Lucy's message.

"Seriously?" I commented, crossing my arms and shivering.

"You came here without even knowing that?" Natsu added.

Both Natsu and I answered her in unison. "To subdue the monster 'Vulcan'."

"I want to go home, she says."

"Then go already." I shrugged (or, I guess, I _tried _to shrug. As it was pretty hard to move at all in this reezing climate), following Natsu.

"Macao!" Natsu called into the unforgiving storm.

"Macao!" I joined in, "Where are you?"

"Macao! Are you there? Were you done in by Vulcan?"

Something moved in the midst of the snowy mountains, I strained my eyes for a better look. A shadowy figure burst from the snow and bounded toward us. I wasn't given enough time to react, so soon, the beast was upon us.

The beast Vulcan was a mass of white fur with an ugly face stuck on it, nothing to be impressed by. It leapt right past Natsu, completely ignorant to him. I assumed he was going to go past me too, but I was wrong. Vulcan wrapped his big rough fingers around my waist and plucked me up from where I stood. With his other arm, I saw him grab Lucy too.

"Human women!" he whooped, running off with the two of us.

* * *

"Uh-hoho!" the monster Vulcan bounced around Lucy and I in big ape-ish circles.

"Hey, Kumiko, would you mind moving your foot?" Lucy huffed.

"Huh? No problem." I attempted to shift positions only succeeding in making the both of us even more uncomfortable.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Lucy complained.

"Would you enjoy seeing me get ripped apart by a giant monkey?" I retorted, "I needed some time to think, how much longer does this thing last?"

I'd jinxed it; the clock poofed out of existence, leaving Lucy and I completely exposed.

"W-wait! Holorogium, don't disappear!" Lucy cried as Balkan loomed over us.

I couldn't leave Lucy like that, so I threw myself in front of her protectively. Vulcan's steamy breath was warm on my face, it made me want to gag, but I kept a straight face. What could I do? I knew my magic could overtake this thing easily, but they might also take out Lucy! And even if Lucy survived, I don't know how she'd react... it might scar her.

"Woohoo! I finally caught up with you," Natsu came in at full speed, "Where is Macao?"

Natsu slipped, tumbling into a wall, but he quickly recovered.

"Hey Monkey! Where's Macao?"

"Uho?" the beast reacted.

"That's right, where is he? He's a human man, got it?" I asked defiantly.

"A man?" Vulcan responded, confused.

"Where did you hide him!" Natsu accused.

"Uhoho!" Vulcan grinned.

"He understood!" Natsu followed Vulcan's motions, kneeling down by the edge of the cave, "Where?"

With a shove, Natsu fell from the cliff, down miles and miles of mountain and snow. Not even Natsu would be able to survive a fall like that.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried.

"Me no likes man," Vulcan turned to face Lucy and I, "Me likes woman!"

'No! he's not dead, is he? He's a great mage and all...!" Lucy was hysteric.

I placed my hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "All we can do right now is fight, we can look for him once we've defeated Vulcan."

"You're right."

Lucy and I returned to the problem at hand: the hyperactive giant monkey dancing around the cave singing about women.

"Women, women, you perverted monkey! What are you gonna do if you got Natsu hurt?" Lucy unhooked a set of keys from her belt, "Open the door to the golden bull palace, Taurus!"

A bull now stood in front of Lucy bearing an axe on his back.

"Mooooooooo!" he roared.

"Taurus, the most powerful stellar spirit in my contract, will be your opponent!" Lucy proclaimed.

"Lucy-san! You have nice boobs as always, moo-re amazing than ever!" the bull cooed.

"Oh yeah, he's a pervert as well." she sighed.

"And who's your friend!" he paused for a moment, staring at my chest, then he patted my back, "It's okay."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" I fumed.

"Uho! Don't take my women!" Vulcan steamed.

"_Your_ women? That's a most unforgivable remark." Taurus said seriously.

"That's right, get him Taurus!" Lucy encouraged.

_Maybe the bull is alright... _I thought to myself.

"You should say 'my boobs' not my women!" Taurus corrected.

_Or not._

**And with that, until next time! Don't forget to review.**


	7. Macao

**Argh! I hate the number seven!**

"Taurus!" Lucy called.

"I'm moo-re than ready!" Taurus replied.

_Hm, I might not have to bring out my power after all... _Kumiko mused.

Taurus charged but froze in place as the shadowy figure of a young boy emerged at the lip of the cave.

"How dare you push me off a cliff," Natsu huffed, "It was close..."

"Natsu! You're safe!" Lucy squealed and I couldn't help thinking she was overly happy.

"I'm surprised you made it!" I commented with a smile.

"Huh?" Natsu looked up, noticing the bull, "What! There are more monsters now!

The bull took a flying kick to the face and fell back. "I can't take it no moo-re..."

"Natsu!" I screamed.

"I was worrying about you and then you come and do this! Besides how did you survive?" Lucy asked.

To that, Natsu grinned. "It's all thanks to Happy, right?" Natsu pointed out the cat flying above them.

"You're welcome!" the cat replied.

_I'd forgotten that the cat could fly... actually, I'd forgotten about the cat entirely._

"Oh, yeah! I forgot Happy had wings." Lucy admitted.

"Aye, it's one of the ability type magic: Wings." Happy explained.

"You can't deal with transportation, but you're okay with Happy?" Lucy pointed out.

"Happy's not transportation." Natsu stated blandly, looking at Lucy like she was a complete idiot.

"I see, so it's a psychological problem." I thought out loud.

"A psycho-what?" a baffled Natsu looked to me for further explanation.

I sighed. "It means it's all in your head." I said slowly, tapping my skull.

"It is not!" Natsu retorted.

"Listen, because you don't _think _of Happy as transportation, you don't get motion sick. If I had you completely convinced that a boat or a carriage was, let's say a person disguised as such, then your motion sickness would disappear."

"But Happy _isn't_ transportation! He's a nakama. From the geezer, Mira," at this point Lucy started screaming something, but I chose to block her out, "Then the annoying Gray and Elfman, to Happy, Lucy and Kumiko. We're all nakama. That's why..."

Natsu turned around and kicked the approaching Vulcan under the chin. "I'm taking Macao home!" Natsu grinned, "Tell me or I'll burn you Black like charcoal."

"Uhoho!" the monkey tossed snowballs full speed at Natsu.

"That won't work on fire!"

"Uho?" Vulcan picked up Taurus's axe.

"That looks painful." Natsu grimaced.

Vulcan took a couple of swings at Natsu, who easily dodged, then the beast attacked straight on. Luckily, Natsu reacted just in time and caught the axe a few inches from his face. After a few moments of tension, the axe started to sizzle and melt. Natsu caught a drop of the molten metal in his mouth and chewed.  
He then proceeded to spit the metal at the Vulcan's face.

Vulcan lost his concentration, and loosened he hold out the axe.

"Here I come," Natsu sent his firey fist driving into the monkey's stomach, "Iron fist of Salamander!"

"You know this is great and all, but what about Macao?" I sighed.

"Ack! I forgot to ask!"

As Natsu looked back to the monkey, it began to decompose and was eventually replaced with an unconscious man.

"The monkey became Macao!" Natsu yelled.

"Oh, so he was taken over by Vulcan!" Happy concluded.

"Taken over?" Lucy asked.

"It's a magic to take over the body." I explained.

The wind picked up, carrying Macao's body over the edge of the cave. Natsu tried to grab at him, but he was falling too fast, I could see that the boy was prepared to throw himself over the edge to grab him. I moved quickly, shoving Natsu back inside the cave, I leapt over the edge and wrapped my arms around Macao.

Hoping that the snow storm would be enough cover, I whispered, "Transformation... Wings!"

I could feel our falling stabilize, then stop completely. I looked up at the giant white wings, I hadn't had much use for this magic before but I guess it was situations like this where it came in handy. They looked so soft that I wanted to reach up and touch, but I didn't, for fear that I might drop Macao.

"Kumiko!" I could hear Lucy's hoarse voice call out for me.

"I'm fine, I... I found a ledge." I lied, "You two just rest a little, I can climb up with Macao."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sure! I'm stronger than I look." I replied.

I waited for what felt like ten minutes before flying up. As I was almost level with the ledge; my head peaking over, I saw the form of Natsu facing me.

I made certain that I had a firm grip on the ledge then muttered, "Cancel."

The wings burst, raining tiny feathers that resembled the snow. I held Macao tight and climbed over the ledge.

**That's it for this week, I have to go back to work next week, waaaah! Please leave a review!**


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